Sesame Code of Ethics - Full Text

Definitions

Client – denotes anyone using the service of a Sesame Practitioner.

Dramatherapy - the intentional use of the healing aspects of drama and movement in the therapeutic process (BADTh)

Good practice

The following code of practice is intended to act as clear guidance to all Sesame Practitioners but does not supplant any local or other procedure agreed with employing authorities.

• Sesame Practitioners should at all times consider the welfare of clients and patients by showing respect for their autonomy and welfare.
• Good practice follows from standards established through training and maintained by supervision, further relevant training and continued personal development.
• Supervision is an essential component of good practice.
• Records should be kept for the purposes of continuity of treatment and clarity of thinking
• Sesame Practitioners who are Dramatherapists must be registered with the Health Professions Council.  Sesame Practitioners who are trained in other fields must be registered as appropriate with their professional association.

Self Regulation

Sesame Practitioners should recognise the need to adhere to the following areas of good practice:

• Sesame Practitioners should not practice under the influence of alcohol or drugs unless as prescribed by a medical practitioner.
• Sesame Practitioners should not practice if they are deemed mentally or physically unfit to do so.
• Sesame Practitioners should ensure that they receive suitable and sufficient support for themselves in their working practice and in their non-working life in order to avoid personal issues and/or needs adversely affecting their work.

Advertising

Advertising by Sesame Practitioners is to be confined to descriptive statements about the services available and the qualifications of the person(s) providing them. Sesame Practitioners must not claim to possess qualifications they do not have. All advertising should comply with relevant law.

Fees

Sesame Practitioners have a responsibility to charge fees appropriate to their qualifications and level of experience. Fees should be negotiated with regard to the minimum current rate recommended by the Sesame Institute and BADth for private practice.

Information on current salary scales in the Health, Social and Community services may be obtained from the relevant authorities.  Advice regarding sessional and/or private employment and insurance cover may be obtained from the Sesame Institute. (IATE. APMT & BAAT)

Insurance

Unless provided by their employer(s), Sesame Practitioners should ensure they have professional indemnity and public liability insurance to cover them in the event of a legal suit. They should ensure they are adequately covered in the event of other claims that might be made against them or the owners of the premises in which they work.

Working Environment

Sesame Practitioners have a responsibility to ensure that the space in which they practice and the manner in which they work complies with all relevant Health & Safety legislation. This specifically relates to the safety of any equipment or materials used, the temperature of treatment rooms and the possible risks of cross infection.

Sesame Practitioners should carry out a risk assessment prior to starting therapy with each client. They should ensure that they maintain adequate levels of privacy and comfort for clients that meet specific needs.

Equality of Opportunity

In all areas of practice Sesame Practitioners should adhere to the Sesame Institute Equal Opportunities policy and the policy of the institution in which the therapist is working. Sesame Practitioners should periodically review their practice to ensure that they are not making discriminatory decisions based upon a client's race, class, culture, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, religion or sexual orientation.

Acceptance of referrals and Suitability of the Sesame Approach

Whatever the course of the referral, the Sesame Practitioners shall at all times maintain responsibility for deciding the suitability of referrals for Dramatherapy (where they are a Dramatherapist) or the suitability of using the Sesame Approach with the client where they are a therapist in another discipline. Sesame Practitioners should ensure that they establish a clear working relationship not only with the client but also with medical practitioners and other appropriate professionals involved in their care.

Professional relationship

Clients have the right to request information about the therapist's experience, training, qualifications and level of supervision. Contracts with clients should be explicit regarding fees, holidays, cancellations and frequency of sessions. The nature and length of the therapy should be discussed with the client and mutual agreement sought.

Sesame Practitioners should conduct their practice in a professional manner.   Sesame Practitioners should not exploit the emotional vulnerability or dependence of their client. Sexual relationships between Sesame Practitioners and their clients are prohibited.

The relationship between the Sesame Practitioner and the client must be confined to a strictly professional basis. Sesame Practitioners recognise the importance of a good working relationship and the power and influence this can give them. The Sesame Practitioner should act in a manner consistent with that recognition.

Sesame Practitioners should make it clear to their clients and any other relevant parties that the therapy may include the client experiencing some distress or measure of upset. However it should also be made clear the Sesame Practitioners will not engage in any behaviour that is cruel, inhumane or unethical or which is intended to distress the client.

Sesame Practitioners need to be open about their training, qualifications, experience and other related information regarding their professional competence.  Sesame Practitioners should respect the dignity of their clients and their worth as human beings. They should affirm their clients' right to and need for self-determination, personal growth and responsibility. They should attempt to enhance their clients' progress in these directions.

Professional relationship – post therapy

The professional relationship between the Sesame Practitioners and the client is defined by the contract. The professional relationship ends with the termination of that contract. However certain professional responsibilities continue beyond the termination of the contract. They include, but are not limited to the following:

• Maintenance of agreed upon confidentiality
• Avoidance of any exploitation of the former relationship.
• Provision for any follow up care and/or support that might be needed. (TA)

Assessment & Review procedure

Sesame Practitioners should constantly monitor the usefulness and effectiveness of their therapy practice. This should be achieved through using an organised and routinely audited process of note making, record keeping and report writing.

Record Keeping

Sesame Practitioners should keep adequate records about their clients, and to ensure privacy, these should be kept safely under locked conditions. If any information is stored on computer disks, therapists should ensure they conform to the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Whatever records are kept should be in a form that can be inspected by clients if they so request.

The client's consent to treatment – the therapeutic contract

Therapy should not normally commence without the client understanding, in broad terms, the nature, purpose and likely effects of the proposed treatments and freely consenting to it proceeding.

The client has a right to withdraw consent at any time during treatment to the whole or part of the therapeutic process. The therapy would then be completed in an appropriate way.  Where the client is considered by the Sesame Practitioner to be incapable of giving consent in the above terms, the Sesame Practitioners should seek the agreement of all or some of the following persons: the primary therapist, the primary carer or the multi disciplinary team concerned.

The contract should include explicit details about time, fees, respective responsibilities of the client and therapist, rationale of sessions, restrictive and permissive ground rules of the session's confidentiality.

It should be understood that no one else can give consent for a non-urgent treatment to proceed, except in the case of:

• A minor, where the nearest relative can consent
• A ward of court, when it is a matter for the court to decide
• A child in the care of the local authority when it is a matter for the local authority

Beyond these exceptions the law is uncertain, but it is acceptable practice to proceed in the good faith of all concerned, exercising duty of care. (BADTh)

Touch

It is in the nature of the Sesame Approach that touch may occur between clients and/or clients and Sesame Practitioner(s). This should be made clear to clients and, where relevant, to clients' representatives and service purchasers, before therapy commences.

Professional Development

Sesame Practitioners should continue to develop their professional skills by attending, where possible, any courses, in service training programmes, lectures, conferences or workshops offered by appropriate organisations in order to extend their knowledge and range of skills. This should be, where possible, with the financial support of their employers. Dramatherapists should ensure that they meet the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements of the HPC and therapists from other disciplines should ensure they meet the CPD requirements of their governing body.

They should also keep up to date in their field by the reading of current literature and by being informed of and promoting the interests of Dramatherapy. Sesame Practitioners whether Dramatherapists or other health professionals should endeavour to keep in contact with fellow professionals through meetings, e.g. AGMs. (BAAT)

Training

If involved in the training of other professionals, Sesame Practitioners should ensure they have adequate experience and supervision, appropriate for the setting of standards for personal and professional development, for those for whom they are responsible.

Delegation of duties

Sesame Practitioners have a responsibility to refrain from delegating professional responsibility to unregistered and/or unqualified persons except in the case of students in training, in which case, full responsibility for the students must be taken by the qualified Sesame Practitioner whether Dramatherapist or therapist from another discipline.

Relationships with colleagues

Sesame Practitioners respect the integrity of other professionals. However, they should confront a colleague whom they have reasonable cause to believe is acting in an unethical manner, and failing resolution, to report that colleague to the appropriate professional body.

Legacies and Gifts

Sesame Practitioners should neither offer nor accept tokens such as favours, gifts, legacies or hospitality, which might be construed as seeking to promote undue influence. Where relevant, they should adhere to guidelines or procedures published by employing authorities.

Child Protection

Sesame Practitioners should be aware of, and agree to abide by, the relevant Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) Inter Agency Guidelines. Sesame Practitioners have a duty to pass on information related to adult to child or child to child abuse. The issue of child protection is important for Sesame Practitioners regardless of whether their work routinely brings them into contact with children. (APMT)

 

Disclaimer

• This code of ethical practice is not a definitive statement of British law.
• Sesame Practitioners need to be aware of any pre existing guidelines, procedures or requirements that are defined in their contract(s) of employment.
• Sesame Practitioners must abide by the laws of the country in which they practice.
• The Sesame Institute Council acknowledge the work of the following professional bodies in compiling this code of ethical practice: Association of Professional Music Therapists (APMT), British Association of Art Therapists (BMT), British Association of Counselling (BAC), British Association of Dramatherapists (BADTh), Institute of Arts Therapies in Education (IATE), Transactional Analysts (TA), United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists (UKCP)